Arizona Cardinals (first stint) Lindley was drafted in the sixth round of the
2012 NFL draft by the
Arizona Cardinals of the
National Football League (NFL). On November 18, 2012, he replaced
John Skelton in a loss to the
Atlanta Falcons. He made his first professional start on November 25 against the
St. Louis Rams. In his first season, he posted a very low 46.7 passer rating and threw 7 interceptions compared to 0 touchdowns. After two seasons with the team, Lindley was released by the Cardinals on August 25, 2014.
San Diego Chargers Lindley signed with the
San Diego Chargers and was assigned to their
practice squad on August 31, 2014.
Arizona Cardinals (second stint) On November 11, 2014, Lindley re-signed with the Cardinals after a season-ending injury to
Carson Palmer. On December 11, 2014, starting
quarterback Drew Stanton was injured in the game against the Rams, Lindley entered the game and saw his first in-game action since 2012. On December 28, 2014, against the
San Francisco 49ers, Lindley threw his first career
touchdown pass to
Michael Floyd, ending an NFL-record 228 pass attempts without a touchdown to start his career. He finished the 2014 season with a 48.4% completion rate, 562 yards passing, 2 touchdowns, 4 interceptions, and a 56.8 passer rating. On January 3, 2015, in the Cardinals' first-round playoff game at the
Carolina Panthers, Lindley completed 16 of 28 passes for 82 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. He had a passer rating of 44.3 and Arizona lost 27–16.
New England Patriots On August 10, 2015, Lindley agreed to terms with the
New England Patriots. Ryan started the last preseason game against the
New York Giants on September 3. He was released September 4, 2015, during final cuts to 53.
Indianapolis Colts On December 29, 2015, Lindley signed with the
Indianapolis Colts. On January 3, 2016, Lindley split time with fellow recent signee
Josh Freeman in the Colts season finale against the
Tennessee Titans and went 6/10 for 58 yards and a touchdown in the 30–24 win.
Ottawa Redblacks After not playing professional football for more than a year, Lindley signed with the
Ottawa Redblacks of the
Canadian Football League (CFL) on February 2, 2017. Lindley saw the most action during the preseason for the Redblacks; he completed 18 of 30 pass attempts for 140 yards with 1 touchdown and 0 interceptions. Lindley made his first CFL start on September 22, 2017: Starting quarterback
Trevor Harris and backup
Drew Tate were both out with injuries. Lindley played poorly, completing just 16 of 36 pass attempts (44.4%) for only 151 yards (4.2 yards per attempt), with one interception and the Redblacks were beaten handily by the
Winnipeg Blue Bombers 29–9. In his next start against the
Saskatchewan Roughriders, Lindley completed 17 of 31 pass attempts (54.8%) for 161 yards (5.2 yards per attempt), with one touchdown and one interception. He also served as Ottawa's
short-yardage quarterback during the 2017 season, rushing 47 times for 74 yards and five touchdowns. On March 6, 2018, Lindley was released by the Redblacks. ==Career statistics==